Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Progressive Overload Principal of Life

In the big wide world of exercise science there’s a training
principle called Progressive Overload (PO). PO is pretty much the cornerstone
of any training program designed to produce performance improvements for the
individual who is following the program. In layman’s terms, PO simply means
consistently graduating the intensity of the workout by manipulating the
training variables – sets, reps, weight, recovery time, range of movement,
speed, time under load, distance travelled, gradient, revs… and so on.

In terms of producing results, the sad reality is that…

The
majority of people that have gym memberships don’t train at all (upwards
of seventy percent) and once the initial emotion and
motivation subsides, so too does the commitment, the sweat and the
results (for many people).

The
majority of people who do work out – and not just in gyms – are
essentially “going through the motions”. That is, maintaining (at best)
but not seeing significant improvement, adaptation or change.

Change… almost.

Naturally, most people who exercise are looking to create some kind of
physical improvement via their training program; leaner, lighter, more
strength, flexibility, speed, power, aerobic endurance, muscular endurance and
of course, change in appearance. It’s also true that most people won’t achieve
and maintain their exercise goals
– and not because they don’t have the potential to achieve great results – but
because they won’t get uncomfortable enough, often enough and keep doing it enough.
Great at starting, crappy at maintaining.

Working Against Resistance.

If we want to see significant positive physical change with our exercise
program then we need to be prepared to work against resistance consistently –
because that’s where the improvement lives. No graduated resistance, equals no
improvement. Maintenance perhaps, but no significant physical change. This
resistance might come in the form of a heaver weight, an extra rep or five, a
steeper gradient on the treadmill, a faster speed on the bike, a different
activity, less recovery time between sets, a higher target heart rate… and so
on. Our body won’t adapt / change unless we give it a reason to – and most
people don’t.

PO in our Head.

This concept of Progressive Overload, adaptation and improvement is also
true for life beyond the gym, beyond the running track and beyond the physical
realm. Just like we subject our biceps, abs, thighs, heart and lungs to a
certain level of stress in order to create particular desirable physical
outcomes, so too do we need to subject our psychological and emotional muscles
to a type of PO in order to become stronger and more effective at dealing with
the realities, challenges and speed bumps (all forms of resistance) that life
presents us. Here are some of the muscles that can only be strengthened and
developed by injecting some sensible and strategic PO into our world:

Decision
making muscles

Dealing
with feedback muscles

Standing
up for yourself muscles

Self
control muscles

Doing
what scares the crap out of you muscles

Perseverance
muscles

Attitude
muscles

Problem
solving muscles

How do we begin to address our fears? We do what scares us – that is, we
work against emotional and psychological resistance; we lift that mental
dumbbell. And then we lift a heavier one. Once we face our fears, we become
stronger, we develop new skills, our mindset shifts, the “weight” seems lighter
and we move to the next (heavier) dumbbell on the rack. This is PO of the
psychological variety. And it works. Very effectively. How do we build our attitude muscles?
We consciously and consistently choose to find the good, to ask better
questions and to deal with “challenges” in a positive and pro-active manner. We
choose to work against the resistance that people, circumstances and situations
might provide and to do what most people won’t. Lift the heavier dumbbell.

Decision Time.

There comes a time when we all walk to the dumbbell rack and we ask
ourselves a question; do I keep lifting the same (comfortable) weight,
repeating the same behaviours and producing the same less-than-desirable
results in my world, or do I give my body / mind / potential the workout it
actually needs?